On the upside, the number of people who voted in yesterday’s preliminaries in Boston and other cities was higher than the usual poll sampling. On the other hand, that ain’t […]
Elections
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
Healey approves 20 ballot questions for 2016
TWENTY PETITIONSÂ proposing new laws that would, among other things, legalize recreational marijuana, expand the state’s authority to license charter schools, and protect whales from fishing nets, passed their first legal […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Biden his time. Will Joe run?
Hillary Clinton is surely muttering the same thing over and over today: Say it ain’t so, Joe. After months of monotony about how the former First Lady, US senator, and […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hillary Clinton goes back to the future
Hillary Clinton laid out the themes of her presidential campaign in their fullest form yet with her Saturday speech on New York’s Roosevelt Island. The location was meant to evoke […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Leveraging student debt as a campaign issue
In 2008, young voters by all accounts were the key to sending Barack Obama to the White House. While their numbers slid back in the election four years later, they […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
O’Malley joins Sanders on Clinton’s left
Hillary Clinton remains very likely to win the Democratic presidential nomination next year. But the cakewalk she was hoping for now features two lesser mortals who will at least be […]
Posted inPolitics
Tom Brady hitting lecture circuit
IS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS quarterback Tom Brady laying the groundwork for life after football? After four Super Bowl victories and three Super Bowl MVPs, we certainly hope not. But the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Hillary happens, but it’s still party that matters
It was surely one of the most widely anticipated presidential campaign kickoff announcements in history. But the lack of suspense did nothing to stop the floodgates from opening for yet […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Herald teams with Franklin Pierce
New Boston Herald presidential polls released this week indicate Jeb Bush is tied with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker among Republicans and Hillary Clinton is all alone on the Democratic side. […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Let Warren be Warren
As a rare convocation of America’s political nobility gathers to mark the opening of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, there is palpable relief that the […]
Posted inThe Download, Transportation
Great Scott!
MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott’s press conference on Tuesday was one of those rare moments in political life when an official just lets it rip. We in the press are […]
Posted inHealth Care, Olympics, The Download
Vaccines become campaign issue
The editorial pages of the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal rarely agree on anything, but on Tuesday both newspapers criticized parents and politicians who think vaccines are potentially dangerous […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Stormy performance fit to a T
The jury is still out on Gov. Charlie Baker’s performance during the blizzard, though some are giving the rookie good grades at least for appearances. But one thing is certain as […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Looking for the man or woman on a horse
A RECENT BOOK by Aaron David Miller argues that the United States should be satisfied with the great presidents we have already had – George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
PIRG decries campaign spending
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE US SENATE CANDIDATES must raise an average of $3,300 per day over six years to equal the median haul of winners during the 2014 election cycle, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Warren’s clout grows
The clout of Sen. Elizabeth Warren continues to grow in Washington, as Wall Street banker Antonio Weiss asked the president to withdraw his nomination for a top job at the Treasury […]
Posted inPolitics
Bromancing the vote
CHARLIE BAKER SQUEAKED into the governor’s office by such a narrow margin that pretty much any demographic group can claim to be responsible for the last few votes that pushed […]
Posted inPolitics
Should incumbents get top ballot billing?
THE POWER OF INCUMBENCY is a time-tested benefit in contested elections. Studies have shown over and over that officials seeking to hold onto their seats at all levels are successful […]
Posted inPolitics
Odds are Fall River mayor can’t lose
An ad appearing on Flanagan’s Facebook page. Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan may pull off one of the most improbable election victories in history in three weeks: the odds are […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
What’s the matter with Blackstone?
Ten years ago, journalist and historian Thomas Frank published What’s the Matter With Kansas? The book was an exploration of the political transformation of his home state, which had gone […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Polling expert analyzes midterm GOP gains
Mark Blumenthal has been working in the political polling industry for 20 years, but his historical perspective goes back much further. “The party of the president has lost legislative seats […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
15% rule promotes insiders, has to go
Last week, Charlie Baker won a relatively close race to become the next governor of the Commonwealth. The outcome was surprising to many people, though for different reasons. A volunteer […]
Posted inPolitics
Fall River follies
Since 2010, Massachusetts voters statewide have marched to the polling booth eight times for primary, general, and special elections and there have been at least 13 other special elections with […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
A time for beginnings, endings, opportunities
It’s a time for beginnings. The election of a new governor brings an end to eight years of Democratic hegemony on Beacon Hill. For Charlie Baker, it is both a […]
